Early-season phenom Matt Harvey can make it five straight wins on Monday night when his New York Mets visit Marlins Park for the first of three games against the Miami Marlins.
The seventh overall pick by the Mets in 2010, Harvey reached the majors last season as a 23-year-old and was 3-5 in 10 starts while posting a 2.73 earned run average in 59 1/3 innings.
He's been even stingier thus far in 2013, allowing just six earned runs on 14 hits in his initial 35 innings while defeating San Diego, Philadelphia, Minnesota and Washington in succession between April 3 and 19.
The ERA swelled from 0.93 to 1.54 after his most recent outing, a no-decision against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 24 in which he allowed three runs on four hits in six innings.
The Mets won the game, 7-3, and have outscored opponents, 33-12, in games Harvey has started.
Miami goes with fellow former first-rounder Jose Fernandez, who faces the Mets for the second time in his fifth big-league appearance.
Just 22 years old, Fernandez was the 14th overall pick in 2011 and debuted with the Marlins on April 7 against the Mets in New York.
He struck out six batters and allowed just three hits and a run while taking a no-decision in a 4-3 loss, in which he became the youngest starting pitcher in Marlins history.
He's 0-2 in three starts since against Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Minnesota and has given up nine runs on 14 hits in 15 innings.
In one home start thus far, against the Phillies, Fernandez pitched six innings, allowed two hits and did not give up a run.
The Marlins are 1-3 and have been outscored, 20-9, in games he's pitched.
On Sunday in New York, given new life, the Philadelphia Phillies capitalized and wrapped up a three-game sweep over the Mets with a 5-1 win at Citi Field.
The Phillies strung together four straight hits with two outs in the top of the seventh inning after New York catcher John Buck dropped a Laynce Nix pop up behind the plate.
Nix, pinch-hitting for starting pitcher Cole Hamels, wound up ripping a single to left field. Jimmy Rollins followed with another base hit off New York starter Jon Niese (2-2), who was removed after having thrown 117 pitches.
The Mets mustered only three hits in the game.
Ruben Tejada doubled twice for New York, which has lost a season-high four consecutive games.
In Miami, after blasting his first of the season on Saturday, Giancarlo Stanton sent two more over the fence to help the Marlins take a 6-4 victory and salvage a four-game set against the Chicago Cubs.
Stanton, who was batting just .200 with three RBI coming into the series, was a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI and three runs scored to help the Marlins avoid their third series sweep of the season.
Nick Green added a solo homer and Donovan Solano added an RBI in just the second win in eight games for Miami.
Ricky Nolasco (2-2) was solid over seven innings of work, yielding three runs on four hits.
The Mets won two of three games between the teams in an early April series and took 12 of 18 last season. The Marlins last won the season series in 2010 (12-6).
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